In certain applications, it is desirable for rubber compounds, such as the tread portion of a tire, to exhibit improved abrasion or wear resistance to extend the life of the tire. It is also advantageous to improve wear resistance without significantly impacting other useful properties of the rubber compounds, such as cure, functionality of the matrix polymer, and the elastic modulus of the compound.
It is also generally advantageous to reduce the amount of process oil utilized in a rubber formulation without negatively impacting useful properties of the rubber compound, such as processability.